Drowning
by Aquarius12385
Summary: Yeah, another melodrama here - eventually a Quistis/Seifer if I ever get around to finishing it. Post-game, Quistis attempting to deal with some heavy stuff. LONG HIATUS, sorry, formatting fixed and ch.5 up!
1. Chapter 1

The cool ocean air swept over the balcony of Balamb Garden, lifting a few choice pieces of blonde hair off of the sole resident's face, for a moment alleviating the brutal heat of the summer season. Even late in the evening, the weather around Balamb was vicious, and the breakdown of the Garden's air conditioning the week before made the building less of a sanctuary than most people would have liked to believe. A whip crack sliced through the thick, muggy air, and Quistis shifted her weight on the rail restlessly, watching the graceful movements of her weapon as it returned to its relaxed position. Had the circumstances surrounding her solitary visit been different, she might have reveled in the carnal beauty of the bleeding sunset, shooting streaks of red and deep orange haphazardly through the purple sky. But the magnificence of the scenery in front of her failed to stir any emotions other than frustration – there was far too much going on behind her blue eyes to take in something petty like the amazing view.  
  
Quistis Trepe had always been one of the top students at Garden – SeeD at 15, Instructor at 17, top scores in eight out of her fifteen elective classes, a record time on the Fire Cavern exam, a 20 straight off of her SeeD exam…  
  
"Purpose," Quistis muttered blandly, her mouth curving into a delicate frown. "I don't have purpose anymore." During those years as a student and even those as a professor before setting out to battle the Sorceress, Quistis had lived her life as a poster child for perfection. Looking back on it, she almost disgusted herself. Living her life, striving for the perfection she always achieved, however, lost its glitter when she was forced to finally confront her flaws – her personality. Quistis grinned ruefully. The last thing she'd ever considered perfecting was her personality, and that's where her flaws magnified. Left untouched for eighteen years, they loomed above her, threatening to topple the precarious balance of her pride. Of course she had demons to face – didn't everyone else? Unfortunately, hers happened to be late bloomers, leaving her to fumble with her problems with a clumsy, adolescent touch while others her age reveled in the fruits of conquering their tribulations.  
  
"Little late for a lady like yourself to be out alone, isn't it?" A familiar, gravelly voice drawled from behind her, and she just barely kept from jumping out of her skin. Speak of the devil – the carefree cowboy was the epitome of those she envied. Closing her eyes and making a mammoth effort to rid her expression of anything but the pure enjoyment she thought she should be feeling, gazing mindlessly into the grace of the skyline. Feeling as if she'd succeeded, she turned her head to flash a quick smile at Irvine.  
  
"This little lady can take care of herself just fine, thank you," she replied coolly. Irvine's tanned face broke into a grin as he sauntered up beside her.  
  
"If you say so… would you look at that sunset? Amazing what a little summer can do to the sky, eh?" He pried, nudging her ceaselessly with his elbow. "Even Balamb can look pretty sometimes. Bloody hot out here, though." Cocking an eyebrow at him, she shrugged.  
  
"I guess so." Irvine paused for a second, and Quistis rebuked herself for the slip in her tone.  
  
"You okay, Quisty?" He asked, the gravel leaving his voice for a moment as he coined the nickname she'd been granted at the orphanage. Quistis bit her lip for a moment, her grip on Save the Queen tightening. "You've been awful distant since we came back – we're all worried about you," he continued, emphasizing the word "all". She swallowed and shrugged, moving her gaze back out to the sunset. Leaning forward, Irvine caught her chin with one of his fingers and moved her head so he could see her eyes. "If you've got anything you want to unload, any one of us are here for you. I know you never really got into the whole sharing-your-feelings thing, being the oldest and all, but all of us have done a lot of maturing, and we want to be there for you. It'd be an honor for a few of us," he finished quietly, releasing her chin and glancing at the sun, almost entirely below the water. Raising a hand to adjust her glasses, she noticed a tear fall from her cheek, and damned herself for being so emotionally weak. It was true – surrounded by so many little ones she viewed as siblings, she had to grow up awfully quick and discard her minute childhood in hopes of enhancing that of those around her. Perhaps that's why she'd never fully understood the trials and tribulations of growing up – forced to hide, the problems festered in the back of her mind until they reached the breaking point – the point where she couldn't hide behind her success anymore. She couldn't hide now because there wasn't anything for her motivation to be attributed to – the Sorceress was no longer a constant threat, she had nobody to impress, and the achievements she'd accomplished so early in life left little to be attained in the future. It was a depressing complex, and while it was on the tip of her tongue to tell the cowboy, one of her most level-headed friends, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Old habits die hard, and the routine of stepping on her own emotions to save the concern of others was one she wasn't sure of her ability to throw.  
  
"Quistis?" Irvine tried again, watching her profile intently. Afraid to look at him, Quistis focused on a boat far out in the water.  
  
"I appreciate your concern, Irvine," she started, her voice dangerously close to cracking, "but I'm perfectly fine…" her voice faltered on the last word, and she turned her head away from him, ashamed of the tears that tumbled from her eyes. She heard Irvine shift his weight, and she quickly ran a hand under one eye, attempting to wipe away the warm tears that scalded her pride.  
  
"Okay, Quistis," he replied softly. "Promise me, though, that you'll come to one of us if anything surfaces?" Still refusing to look at him, Quistis nodded vigorously, nearly shaking her hair free of its strict bun. "You need… you know, a hug or anything?" He prompted as he moved to go. Shutting her eyes and biting her tongue, her blonde head went from nodding to shaking a resolute "no", and Irvine ran his hand through his hair. "Well, I need one," he stated, and she nodded softly. Standing stubbornly still, she allowed Irvine to wrap his arms around her for a moment, reveling in the feeling of someone holding her. She wanted desperately to hug him back, but she knew that if she did, the little restraint there was holding the rest of her feelings back would come tumbling down, and she wasn't ready to admit to anyone else what she hadn't yet admitted to herself – her success had made her a complete failure. Irvine released her after a moment, and adjusted his ponytail. "Don't stay out here too late, okay, Quisty? Gets mighty cold after dark," he added, walking slowly to the door that led him back to Garden. Quistis nodded thoughtfully, absentmindedly dragging her weapon through the still air.  
  
"Irvine," she said after a moment, her voice thick and rough with the raw emotion running through her mind. She heard him pause.  
  
"Quisty?" He replied.  
  
"Please don't say anything," she pleaded quietly, and as he heard her voice, he knew that for her to ask him this was equivalent to her begging on her knees.  
  
"Of course not," he said softly. As she heard the door shut behind her, she nearly collapsed, the dams of restraint holding her release burst, and the tears fell more persistently than before, this time accompanied by harsh, rough sobs that robbed her body of breath, and as she sank to her knees, she damned herself yet again. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright," Squall started in a quiet voice, scanning the eyes of those scattered around his office.  
  
"Where's Quistis?" A high, female voice piped up. Squall's smooth forehead creased for a moment as he frowned at the perky brunette sitting on the arm of one of his good chairs.  
  
"She's… ahh… not coming," he replied hesitantly, running his hands over some papers scattered on his desk. This comment was met by more than one confused expression. "Aw hell… Quistis is the reason I'm calling this 'meeting'. It's come to my attention that she's been a little more… distant than usual," he started, and ran a hand over her face. "And I don't know how to help her." It was true that despite Quistis' rank as a mere SeeD, she was one of those who Squall relied most upon. It was she who ended up receiving he blunt end of his anger and frustrations with the trials of running a Garden and dealing with inter-city politics, and it was she who kept him grounded. More often than not, she knew a great deal more about what was happening than he did, and so Squall had come to see her as more of a crutch than anything else. As of late, however, Quistis was becoming more and more absent, and when she did show up to help him at meetings and conferences, she wasn't quite… there. There was always Xu, but Squall shied away from relying on her too much – while he felt bad about it, he didn't trust Xu as he did Quistis – the result of umpteen battles where she'd held her own and protected his back. It was a comrade's bond, a warrior's bond… and although Squall didn't like to pry into other's lives, the changes in Quistis' demeanor over the last couple months were both confusing and depressing. "I honestly don't know what to say or do to help her through whatever she's going through – I don't want to pry, but… I really don't like to see her this way."  
  
"What about a vacation?" Zell prompted excitedly, as if he was the last person he'd expect to have an idea – apparently what he thought to be the greatest idea in the world, at that.  
  
"Yeah!" Prompted Rinoa from beside the martial artist. "Time off would be great… give her time to think and all." It was at these times that Squall wished Cid would return from his six month hiatus from the entire Garden system with Edea – Cid always seemed like such a capable leader, and he knew Quistis better than any of them… well… almost better than any of them. There were experiences that accompanied the group's quest to end the Sorceress' reign that were incomparable and incomprehensible to anyone who hadn't been involved in them, and throughout those experiences, the few who were akin to it formed bonds with one another that could never be broken. Squall didn't know why, but for some reason, a vacation seemed the last thing that Quistis needed – God knew she hadn't done any real work for several weeks anyway, and Squall feared that time away would simply provide her with a more comfortable atmosphere for losing herself in whatever she was going through. At a loss for a more eloquent way of expressing himself, Squall stared at the clutter on his desk, his frustrations mounting, and was immediately relieved when Irvine spoke up.  
  
"Why don't you send her on a mission?" The cowboy asked, running his finger along the tomes that lined the bookcases in Squall's office, absentmindedly scanning the titles with his sharp, mauve eyes. Squall looked up, surprised.  
  
"That just might be it," he replied shortly, mentally reviewing the cases that had yet to be investigated.  
  
"Good idea, Irvy!" Selphie piped up from her corner, and Irvine flashed her a winning smile.  
  
"It'd have to be something meaningful, though," Zell murmured, his chin on his fist. "If I know Quisty as well as I think I do, she'd see through this in a second if it was some half-assed mission. She needs something she can dig her teeth into." Squall nodded.  
  
"Should she go alone?" Rinoa asked curiously. Squall glanced up at her tersely.  
  
"It depends on the mission, but I'd almost rather send her alone." The room fell silent.  
  
"Why on earth would you want to do that?" Selphie asked. "Isn't the point to involve her in things again? How would sending her alone accomplish that?" Squall gave a sigh of frustration. It was unfortunate that the position of Commander required so much communication. He was so much better at making decisions on his own – justification was so hard to articulate.  
  
"Quistis… is kind of a loner," he started, and Zell threw his hands up in the air.  
  
"EXACTLY!" He cried, and then paused when all eyes turned to him. "Well, we want to involve her! Send her with at least one other person!" The room erupted into conversation until Irvine cleared his voice.  
  
"I see what Squall's saying," he drawled, eying the Commander carefully. "Quistis has more discipline than all of us combined can vouch for. What the Commander's going for, instead of involvement, is distracting Quistis away from her problems and giving her something else to think about. Honestly, I think achieving that would be easier if there was only one person to account for." The room fell silent again. Squall nodded his thanks to Irvine, whose mouth tilted into a lazy smile.  
  
"I guess I see what you're saying," Zell admitted grudgingly.  
  
"Like I said, though," Squall continued, "it all depends on the mission. We'll see what I can come up with on such short notice." The rest of them nodded, and Zell jumped up to look at the clock.  
  
"Is the meeting adjourned?" He asked anxiously, and Squall raised an eyebrow inquisitively at him.  
  
"Unless anyone else has anything to say, yes," he replied, and without waiting for anyone to say a word, Zell sped out of the room.  
  
"Hotdogs at 10 AM everyday," Selphie explained with a shrug. They all nodded and then filed out of the room, with the exception of Squall, who dropped his head on his desk with a satisfying 'thud'.  
  
"Squall?" A soft voice floated in from the doorway, and Squall didn't lift his head to reply.  
  
"What?" He asked. He heard light footsteps walking over to his chair, and then a hand on the back of his neck.  
  
"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, running her hand over his shoulders.  
  
"Yes" came the muffled reply. "I'm just wondering if I'm doing the right thing by intervening with Quistis. She's too damn stubborn to ask for help." Rinoa snorted.  
  
"Sounds like someone else I know," she murmured, gazing out the windows behind them at the sun blaring down on the earth. "Did you get someone to go look at the air conditioning?" There was silence, which Rinoa took as a no. "I haven't known Quistis as long as you all have, but I think that you and Irvine have a point. The mission is a great idea."  
  
"Do you really think so?" Squall asked quietly, lifting his head off the desk to look at her. Rinoa nodded.  
  
"Of course! My first thought was a vacation, too, but I didn't even stop and think about the fact that she might have too little to do."  
  
"Well… not that she has too little to do… I mean, she helps me out a LOT, probably more than she'll ever know, but I don't honestly think her heart is in it." Rinoa nodded.  
  
"I see what you mean. Do you think you could work an Instructor's permit back in this whole equation?" Squall looked at her evenly.  
  
"I could try… it would be a long shot with some members of the Garden committee and it totally depends on the mission and the outcome… dammit, I wish I had a mission ready for this."  
  
"Ask Xu to find you one," Rinoa suggested, running her fingers through his hair as she walked toward the door. "I've got a class in three minutes – see you later." Squall allowed a small smile to grace his features as she walked out of the door, and resting his chin on his fist, he buzzed Xu.  
  
"Yes?" She asked professionally, her voice a little distorted by the speaker.  
  
"Xu, did you receive any new mission requests this morning?"  
  
"Did you go through the dozen I left in your folder yesterday?" Squall sighed.  
  
"Yes. Any more?" There was a pause.  
  
"Well, there is one…" Squall frowned at the hesitancy in her voice.  
  
"Why are you hesitating?" He asked quickly, and Xu paused.  
  
"This one might… occupy you for a little bit," she replied.  
  
"Get in here," Squall snapped, switching off the speaker. A second later, there was a knock on the door, and Xu stepped in, a thick file in her hand. "Are those the mission specs? That looks pretty damn urgent to me." She hesitated a moment, and Squall stuck his hand out across his desk for the folder. She placed it in his hand and he dropped it on his desk and flipped it open. He was surprised to see the face of Seifer Almasy glaring up at him from the page. "I thought we granted him residency in Balamb? What the hell is this?"  
  
"Keep reading," she said shortly, rocking back and forth on her heels.  
  
"Oh," Squall replied, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the rest of the page. "Oh." 


	3. Chapter 3

Quistis gave a heavy sigh and dropped her head on her hand, eyes scanning the computer screen absently. The blue words on the screen flashed in front of her as she scrolled down, eventually not even watching the blur of words fly by. A bird alighted on a tree branch outside of her window, and she cocked her head, watching it preen itself. Her portable fan clunked suddenly, and startled, the bird took off.

"Lucky bastard," she muttered, leaning back and running her fingers through her hair. She felt bad – this work that Xu had given her to do should have been finished a week ago, and she was just now starting – if the type of skimming she was doing could be considered starting. There just wasn't gratification in anything anymore. Even fighting – beating the hell out of T-Rexaurs eventually lost its fun as well, and she was running out of things to try. She'd been close to calling Irvine… anyone, actually, that morning, but as she tried to verbalize her problems, she'd discovered how trivial and selfish they sounded.

"What was I going to say?" She muttered, removing her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I've been so distant because… well, I'm perfect, you see… Trepe, you're an idiot." Leaning back in her chair, she glanced at the clock on her wall. It was noon already and she hadn't left her room at all – noon… "Wait a second," Quistis said, jerking upright. "Noon… oh, no," she moaned. Squall had asked her to accompany him to a meeting at ten that morning with some officials from Balamb and Esthar, something regarding some urgent mission. "Hyne, Trepe!" She shouted, slamming her elbows on her desk and wincing as flesh and bone met the hard oak surface. She grabbed her phone and dialed Squall's extension, surprised when Xu picked up the phone.

"The Commander will be right back," she said. "Is this Quistis?" 

"Yeah, it is… did he really need me at that meeting this morning? I totally forgot-"

"Not at all," Xu replied, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Don't sweat it." Hesitant to make light of her absentmindedness, Quistis bit her lip. "Here he is."

"Quistis?" Squall's voice came on the line.

"Yeah," she said, the reply coming out as a sigh. There was silence for a second.

"If you're worried about the meeting this morning, I was fine. I honestly wasn't planning on going until Xu forced me into it." Quistis highly doubted that, and frowned. Squall, of all people, was making allowances for her. She'd expected him to remain silent as she blabbed an apology and one of the lame excuses she'd been using for the past few weeks, then drop the subject. But this? Where was this coming from?

"Okay…" She started, not quite sure how to reply.

"I need to talk to you. How soon can you be up here?" Quistis glanced down at her ensemble – her pajamas. 

"Give me five minutes," she replied, and hung up the phone without waiting for his reply. That had been a little too weird – or was she overanalyzing it? "I just need to stop thinking about things," Quistis muttered to herself as she headed into her bathroom. 

Squall listened to the dialtone for a moment before gently placing the phone back in the receiver. He flipped open the brief in front of him, and stared at the face of his rival. It was a good thing Quistis had forgotten about the meeting this morning – it was all about the mission lying in front of him, and if she'd gone, her eligibility to take the assignment would have been questionable. He shrugged off his jacket and pushed his hair off of his forehead, glaring at the sun as it shone through his windows. Balamb was so miserably hot all year – he'd rather be stuck in Trabia than live another day in this garden. He felt like he was in an incubator – absolutely baking. The training area was an absolute jungle – the humidity soared with the temperatures, and even the monsters were balking. It was hard to work trainees when the monsters refused to fight, and the time for the next SeeD exam was drawing near. It was times like these when Squall wished dearly that Cid would return and take the world off of his shoulders – had he known what running Garden would be like, he would have flatly refused the offer and returned to his status as a SeeD, blissfully ignorant. 

He slammed the folder shut, shoving it away from him. Like this mission, for example. Dealing with Seifer directly after destroying Ultimecia hadn't been half as bad as he had expected. The matter was settled quickly without much intervention by the Deling and Esthar states, despite their blatant refusal to admit him anywhere near their cities. It had been decided that Balamb was to take him in, after much arm twisting, and although Squall knew that the residency decision wasn't the end of Seifer in the least, he hadn't expected to see something about him this quickly. 

                His speaker buzzed, and Xu's voice crackled through the wires. 

                "Quistis is here," she stated, and Squall looked at the clock. Five minutes on the dot. At least she was still punctual when she put her mind to something, and he felt a little better about pulling the rug out from under his friend. Hopefully this mission would help her get herself back together. 

                "Okay," Squall replied, sliding the brief across the desk absently, staring at the floor. The door swung open, and Quistis poked her head in tentatively. "Sit down," Squall said, gesturing to one of the chairs across from him. He saw her eyes fall to the folder before him, and as her gaze jumped back to him, he raised his eyebrows. "I called you up here to let you know that I've assigned you to a mission." Her eyes widened momentarily. 

                "With all due respect, I'm not on active duty-"

                "You are now," Squall replied, shoving the brief at her. "Quistis…" Her hand paused on its way towards the folder. "You're the only person I trust to complete this mission as objectively as possible." Quistis' delicate brows furrowed for a moment. "Just read," he said, gesturing and leaning back, watching her reaction intently. To her credit, her poker face was just as good now as it had been when she was an instructor. You couldn't ever read her, and although he didn't try often, it was frustrating during those times when he really just needed to read her mind. After flipping through a couple pages and then resting the pages on her knees, she looked at him again. 

                "Why just me?" She asked. "From the looks of this, we could use a little more manpower." Squall tilted his head.

                "Can you imagine Seifer flanked by a half-dozen SeeDs?" Quistis paused. "Neither can I. He's going to throw a fit when he finds out that Balamb gave us this request in the first place." She shifted uneasily in her chair, eyeing Squall meditatively. She knew exactly why he'd given her this mission – as a sort of test. This wasn't any of the bullshit paperwork she'd been pushing off for the last few months; this was real and required more of her focus and attention than she was comfortable giving, especially going solo. Her blue eyes narrowed in an expression Squall recognized very well from his childhood, and he momentarily panicked – she saw right through the whole thing, and suddenly he stood up. "Quistis, I can see what you're thinking… but that's not it. I'm not sending you off because of the way things are going here or anything along those lines – you're the only person that came to mind when I opened this brief, and when I talked to the representatives from Balamb and Esthar this morning, I was even more convinced. Quistis, you're one of the few people Seifer respects, and by sending you it looks less like he's being babysat. He's going to balk and try to evade you, but I trust you with this." Quistis glanced down at the patterned carpet, blinking back the tears that had suddenly rushed to her eyes. Squall certainly wasn't an idiot, and he had her exactly where he wanted her. She could either break down, throw the folder at him, and run from the room crying… or she could accept the mission. She didn't like the feeling of being manipulated, but if he could justify giving her the mission, couldn't she accept his reasons?

                "Did Irvine talk to you?" She asked quietly, shutting the folder with a snap. Squall frowned.

                "About what?" 

                "Nevermind," she said quickly. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. When should I prepare to leave for the mission?" Squall paused, turning his back to her to look out the window.

                "As soon as possible. Report back to me once you're ready to go." Quistis blinked.

                "Yes, Commander," she said stonily, turning on her heel. Squall leaned against his desk and spun his chair with his leg, watching the ocean peacefully washing on the shore, and wondering if he'd truly done the right thing. It was fine and dandy for the others to suggest plans of action for him, but having to deal with her reaction was the worst part. He hoped she knew he hadn't been bluffing about making her his choice for the job - he'd been speaking what was really on his mind for the first time in awhile. 


	4. Chapter 4

Quistis stormed down the hall towards her dorm, unsure of why she was so frustrated and angry. It could have been a lot of things – having other people try to help her when she didn't even know how to help herself was a little annoying. And there was no longer any doubt in her mind that the charade she'd kept up for the past few months hadn't fooled any of them. There was certainly something to be said about comradeship – you couldn't fool the people who saw you at your best and your worst. She knew she should be grateful that they cared enough about her to put energy towards her well-being, but truth be known, she really just wanted to be alone to figure it out. 

                "Quisty!" A voice called impatiently, and she stopped quickly, not expecting her pursuer to crash into her and nearly send them both sprawling to the floor. "It's about time you stopped, I've been chasin' you around half the damn garden!" Quistis smiled in spite of herself, and turned to see Irvine quickly adjusting his hat. 

                "Sorry, I was just…"

                "Zoning?" Irvine finished for her, the annoyed tone in his voice belied by the gentility of his eyes and smile. "How're you doin' today?" Suspecting he knew EXACTLY what she was doing that day, Quistis lifted the brief, and Irvine's eyes widened. "That the specs for a mission? Hyne, what are you doin'? Goin' to the moon or something?" She leaned against the railing, shaking her head. 

                "Naah…" she left off, watching the clouds blow by through the glass ceiling. Placing his arms on the railing beside her, Irvine pushed himself up until he intercepted her vision. 

                "Care to elaborate?" He inquired. "I didn't even know you were on active duty."

                "Nor did I," Quistis replied, frowning. Irvine paused, tapping his foot. She looked at him questioningly.

                "WHAT IS THE MISSION?" He said slowly, drawing out each syllable. 

                "Oh…" She started, flipping it open. Irvine caught a glimpse of Seifer's picture, and stuck his hand in the papers. 

                "What is THIS?" He asked, loosening the photo. "Almasy? NOW? Didn't we just grant him residency in Balamb?"

                "Yes."

                "And he's screwing things up already!?" Quistis frowned at him. 

                "It's not his fault," she started.

                "I find that a little hard to believe," Irvine drawled, leaning against the railing next to her. 

                "Don't be so subjective," she chastised, grabbing the photo back. Irvine threw up his hands. 

                "Alright, alright, guilty as charged. It's just a little hard to look at that picture and not get angry, you know?" Quistis glanced at the picture. _You're the only person I trust to complete this mission as objectively as possible, Squall told her… and from Irvine's reaction, he was right. _

                "We have to move him to another location," Quistis said quietly, adjusting her glasses. "Balamb didn't turn out to be quite as receptive as we'd assumed it to be." Irvine narrowed his eyes.

                "What do you mean? People threatinin' him and stuff? He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

                "Not according to these police reports," Quistis murmured, taking a closer look at the photocopies. 

                "Those are all police reports about attacks on Almasy?" Irvine asked, disbelief washing over his face. "Are they just from citizens from Balamb?" She shook her head.

                "People are coming from all over," she murmured, her jaw set. "Apparently I have to escort him to Esthar, where Laguna has a place set up for him."

                "Uhh… isn't Esthar… not the choicest of places to keep him?" Irvine queried. Quistis shrugged.

                "Squall and Laguna met this morning, so I assume they've got reasons for doing this. Maybe they're not even going to keep him in Esthar… it doesn't even say on these briefs." A musical chime split the air, and Squall's voice erupted from all around them. 

                "Would Irvine Kinneas please come to my office… Irvine Kinneas to Commander Leonhart's office," he monotoned. Irvine glanced up in surprise, then shrugged. 

                "Duty calls," he said. "When are you leaving?"

                "Squall said as soon as possible," Quistis replied, snapping the folder shut. He nodded. 

                "Well, good luck, and I'll see you when you get back."

                "Alright," she replied shortly, starting off and stopping in surprise as Irvine grabbed her arm. 

                "That's my girl," he said, grinning, as he pulled her to him and planted a kiss on her cheek. Quistis' eyebrows shot up and she stepped backwards quickly enough to stumble, and he laughed as she almost went down. 

                "Selphie would KILL you," she muttered, mildly frustrated at his amusement. 

                "You know I'm just kiddin', darlin'," he drawled. The musical chime split the air again.

                "Kinneas, get up here NOW." Irvine blanched for a moment. 

                "I'm in trouble," he said, starting to go. 

                "Rightfully so," Quistis countered, her pride getting the better of her. 

                "You liked it," Irvine tossed back over his shoulder, stepping into the elevator before she could get another word in. Quistis watched the elevator rise for a moment before turning back to the hall. Talking with Irvine had seemed so natural just then, and she was confused as to why. She'd almost felt like her old self again – maybe it was the mission. Maybe this hiatus from the environment of Balamb Garden was exactly what she needed to get out of this funk. At least… she hoped it was just a funk.


	5. Chapter 5

"It's about time," Squall said shortly as Irvine opened the door and threw himself into a chair, propping his boots on the desk. 

                "What, did you expect me to sprint up here or somethin'?" Irvine asked, fanning himself with his hat. "I've got an image to uphold." Squall finally turned around, his face expressionless. 

                "You didn't happen to see Quistis on your way up here, did you?" Irvine nodded, grinning. 

                "I sure did."

                "And…" 

                "She looked pretty intense before I stopped her, but we got to talking about the mission and she lightened up a little. She sort of went into Quisty-command-mode, you know?" Squall nodded. 

                "So you know the basics of the mission?" Irvine nodded again, cocking his finger at a bird flying by the window, following its movements. Squall sighed and reclined in his chair. "Stop worrying, Commander," Irvine said, accenting his sentence with a small "click", his hand jerking backwards. "It's a great mission – it'll keep her busy for quite awhile. It sounds deceptively simple though, eh?" Squall nodded.

                "Yeah… the catch is that we can't use SeeD transports to take them anywhere. Laguna thought it would be too obvious, so we're having them travel in disguise."

                "Incognito," Irvine replied with a grin. "You know, if this doesn't bring her out of her funk, maybe a kickstart for her love life will give her something else to think about-" Squall blanched, his eyes widening at the thought of getting involved with that aspect of Quistis' life. "-Or… not," Irvine finished, amused at Squall's look of horror. "So all's she has to do is get Seifer to Esthar alive, without the use of SeeD transports? Piece of cake for a stud like her, don't you think?" Squall shrugged.

                "There's no doubt in my mind that she can do it, but odds are Seifer's not going to be thrilled with the relocation. And unfortunately, the masses are fully at odds with him… and with SeeD. The sheer number of complaints filing into this office about our residency decision was amazing. You heard about the riots in Deling City, right?" Irvine nodded slowly, his face suddenly withdrawn. 

                "And you're sending her to face this alone?"

                "I figured trying to keep it quiet would go a lot more smoothly than sending an army of soldiers," Squall replied shortly. 

                "Esthar isn't that far-"

                "It's not just to Esthar," Squall interrupted. Irvine paused. 

                "Oh." 

                "That's not in the initial briefs. She'll receive a second set of orders as soon as she meets up with Laguna." 

                "Just how violent were these attacks on Seifer?" Irvine asked, adjusting his ponytail. Squall shrugged evenly. 

                "Pretty bad, hence the disguise," Squall said, gazing out the window. Irvine drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, then stood up.

                "You know, it may be really dangerous… but I think this was the right thing to do, Squall. That girl does her best when she's busy… and thanks for doing the dirty work. I wouldn't have wanted to deal with her when she figured out what was going on," he added, grinning.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

                "Wow," Quistis said, staring in shock at her reflection. Her hair, still dripping wet, hung down her back in a long, copper rope. Glancing at the smiling woman on the box of the hair dye, she grimaced. Combined with her newly green eyes, compliments of some contacts she'd picked up from Dr. Kadowaki, the person staring back at her in the mirror didn't look like her at all. "I suppose that's the point, though," she sighed, running a comb through her hair and pinning it up loosely. With the addition of a little makeup, some sunglasses, and some civilian clothing she'd borrowed from Selphie, she no longer looked the part of a soldier. "I look like a damned prostitute," she muttered, walking outside the bathroom. 

                "Wow, Quisty," Selphie said, springing off the bed. Selphie had insisted on "helping" Quistis get ready for the mission – "help" that merely consisted of sitting on the bed while Quistis took her time in the bathroom. "You don't even look like you anymore!" Quistis pursed her lips. 

                "I look like a whore," she stated simply. "Maybe Rinoa's got a skirt I can borrow or something – I didn't realize that these shoes would add a full three inches to my height." 

                "Just don't bend over," Selphie suggested. Coming from anyone else that remark would be laced with sarcasm, but in this case, it was simply Selphie's common sense speaking up. 

                "Thanks… I'll keep that in mind," Quistis replied. The flowery sundress flapped around her thighs as her fan blew by her, and she picked up her bag, checking her watch. "That took far too long," she muttered, turning to the door. "Thanks for the help, Selphie," she said absently, holding the door for her petite friend. 

                "No problem, anytime! Good luck," Selphie added as she skipped down the hall. Quistis cracked her knuckles as she walked to the elevator, feeling butterflies surface. It was an odd feeling – nervousness. Nerves were something she'd never really dealt with – every endeavor she'd undertaken in her life she'd been more than adequately prepared for. Well, except Ultimecia. But how could you prepare yourself to defeat the most powerful sorceress in the universe? The elevator doors opened and Quistis stepped into the foyer of Squall's office, setting her bag by Xu's desk.

                "Can I help you?" Xu asked, her face expressionless. Quistis paused, then grinned, pulling down her sunglasses.

                "It's me, Xu," she replied. The dark-haired woman froze for a moment, squinting, then laughed. 

                "Good disguise, Q," she said, pointing to the dress. "But aren't you supposed to travel WITHOUT attracting attention?" 

                "Oh, shut up," Quistis shot back as she reached for Squall's door. "I don't own any civilian clothes that don't scream 'QUISTIS TREPE', so I had to borrow something of Selphie's." Xu nodded, turning back to her computer. 

                "Good luck." Quistis knocked sharply on the door, then opened it, stepping inside. 

                "I know, I know," Squall was saying into the phone, his eyes darting upwards as she walked in. He paused for a moment, frowning, before recognition flashed across his face and turned back to his conversation. "Right, I know. The SeeD is right in front of me, and… yes, within half an hour. Right. Thank you," he finished stonily, placing the phone back in the receiver. "Ready to go?" Quistis nodded. "I'm going to send you in an unmarked car, and you're meeting Seifer and a member of Balamb's council in the foyer of the hotel. Any questions?" 

                "None at all," Quistis replied shortly, anxious to get on with the mission. Squall nodded. 

                "I'll call for your car while you're on your way down. Good luck." After she'd left, Squall buzzed for her transport and then sat back. Logistics of running a garden got so difficult when there were friends involved.


End file.
